I thought I'd follow up yesterday's post about the UK Government's decision to disallow four proposed new windfarms by pointing to two very welcome comments from the Liberal Democrats in this post.

"The decisions regarding these developments have been a long time coming and were never going to be clear cut. The mixed recommendations made by the Inspector reflect the realities on the ground; not all wind farms are appropriate for all areas. But the Secretary of State's decision to depart so radically from the independent Inspector's recommendations belies the sheer narrow-mindedness of the UK Conservative Government when it comes to renewable energy.

"It also begs the question as to how we are to achieve the energy security that families and businesses will need in the time to come. Any headlong rush to new nuclear and fracking would be deeply alarming - for our generation and those to follow. "

"I'm shocked at this grim decision from the UK Government to rule against five of the applications for wind farms in the area. The independent Inspector's analysis of the planning applications and available evidence recommended that three of the applications went ahead and yet this seems to have been ignored.

"There is a growing need for the UK to be investing in renewables in order to effectively tackle the very real threats of climate change and yet, from the outset, this Tory Government has seemed determined to denounce green initiatives at every opportunity.

"These developments had the potential to benefit rural communities in the area, bringing jobs, economic development and much needed investment and it is disappointing to see that opportunity go to waste."

2
comments:

Anonymous
said...

It is worth noting however that they would have proceeded if Ed Davey had the guts to undertake that decision before the election instead of playing electoral games in thinking they were going to win Montgomeryshire and didn't want to upset the apple cart!!

I'd be inclined to agree. I think Ed Davey was a remarkably gutless character, and the way he embraced nuclear power after the LibDems previous opposition to it was indecent.

Perhaps he will say the Tories forced him to do it. But selling your soul for power leaves you with nothing in the end.

On that subject, I did find William Powell's comment on nuclear interesting. He appears to be against it. When the LibDems voted to change their policy on opposition to nuclear in 2013, it was done on the condition that it would not involve any public subsidy. It should be clear to everyone that massive subsidies have been and are still being offered to potential nuclear operators in the hope of eventually getting the projects off the ground.

That's the tragedy of the situation. The Tories are cutting subsidies on renewables, but at the same time pouring huge subsidies into nuclear.

Post a comment

Much of what will appear on this blog will also appear in the Syniadau Forums, but the emphasis on this blog is slightly different. The forums are focused more on the structures and institutions that Wales will need to develop in order to become a successful independent nation, arranged on a subject by subject basis, but the blog will have more of an emphasis on day to day political news and developments.

People are welcome to reply or leave comments either here or on the Syniadau Forums. If anyone wants to initiate a new subject they are very welcome to do so there.